Tag Archives: landscaping

Having a rock garden can accent the natural beauty of any backyard. However many gardeners have a tendency to shy away from rock gardens.

Here in Las Vegas, NV it seems like every yard has palm trees and landscape rock.

This is a result of the often simplistic look of a rock garden. In actuality, rock gardens can be made into stunning, lush masterpieces. With a little research and planning, you can make an enjoyable backyard rock garden.

Get to Know Your Environment

When planning a rock garden that incorporates lush greenery, you’ll need to fully understand the limitations of your environment. This will allow you to choose plants that can thrive within your backyard. By exploring plant life by region, provided through a Quality database, you’ll know exactly what to plant and what not to plant.

Design a Landscaping Plan to Strengthen Your Natural Topography

Before choosing your first rock, you’ll need to really examine your back yard and look for naturally occurring slopes. This will allow you to determine the ideal location to build a rock garden. Rock formations within nature follow a general design, one with naturally made declines.

Once you have discovered the perfect location, you’re ready to design your rock garden. Create a plan that allows you to build a rock formation that withstands gravity. This can be done by placing rocks intelligently, so that they can stand atop one another. You should also consider the flow of your rocks. Proper flow will mimic natural rock formations. Additionally, with proper flow, you’ll have the perfect layers for plants to grow.
Building Your Rock Formation

To build a rock formation, you need to use your previously constructed plans, to ensure that you are following a logical path of rock placement. While placing your rocks, be sure to add plenty of dirt for the rocks to rest on. This will also provide your plants with a nutrient source and a path for roots to follow.
Choosing and Planting your Rock garden Vegetation

When choosing the plants that will grow in Las Vegas and within your rock garden, choose native plants that can provide natural beauty. This can be flowing succulents, a few cacti or drought resistant flowers. The individual choice, is completely up to your personal preference and can be any combination of plant types, provided that they can withstand the growing limitations of your environmental region. Simple planting considerations such as sunlight, soil composition and climate zoning is imperative to successful growth.
Incorporating the Rest of Your Backyard into Your Rock Garden

Whereas rock gardens can be designed to stand alone, bringing the rest of your backyard into your rock garden will provide you with a backyard that has a natural landscaped beauty. There are several options, providing individuality. You may choose to capitalize on the foliage that you chose or you can blend your rocks into the rest of your garden.

Creating rock lined pathways is an easy way to develop a flow to your backyard that will signify the natural aesthetics of your rock garden.

Pathways, can be intertwined to span the distance of your backyard, while also reaching points of interest.

Winding pathways towards gates, doors and seating will allow you and your guest to enjoy your backyard without interfering with plant growth.

In place of, or alongside pathways, the foliage used in your garden can be brought out into your main backyard area.

To create a cascading look, you can bring your rock garden foliage down, while intentionally planting other plant varieties. When adding other plant varieties, slowly limit the foliage within your rock garden. This process will create a natural look of plant blending found daily within nature.
Creating a Path within Your Backyard

To build a path or walkway, use standard landscape edging that can be turned effortlessly. This will allow you to wind your pathway, according to your needs. Once the edging is in place, you can fill the walkway with light gravel that has similar or neutral colors to your chosen rocks.

If you prefer to not use gravel, you can use garden pavers. The variety of available pavers provide an immense amount of opportunity to fully match your garden, and your house. Pavers are unique in that they can be placed with perfect straightness. Additionally, angled and curved pavers can also be bought alongside standard rectangular and square pavers. A nice advantage, is that pavers will allow you to create artistic mosaic style designs.

Adding Accent Lighting to Your Backyard Rock Garden

Having lighting strategically placed within your backyard can dramatically accent your rock garden, as well as the walkways that you have created. Today, the available options for outdoor lighting can cater to any landscaped design or home style. The act of installing lighting can be done easily. You may choose to have lighting professionally hardwired in or simply utilize the benefits of solar lighting.

Solar lighting, is often chosen within a backyard for it’s convenience. It’ll allow you to place lighting along walkways, and position it to bring your rock garden to life, long after the sun has set beyond the desert horizon. An advantage of any high sun area, is that solar lighting can capture a full days worth of the power of the sun. This will help to ensure that your backyard lighting can withstand even the darkest of nights.